Projectile launching device



Jan. 12, 1954 s. A. TEMPLE PROJECTILELAUNCHING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 1l, 1950 Jan. 12, 1954 s. A. TEMPLE 2665,43

PROJECTILE LAUNCHING DEVICE Filed Feb. ll, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 12, 1954 s. A. TEMPLE PROJECTILE LAUNCHING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. ll, 1950 Patented Jan. 12, 1954 vUNITED STATES AT? FFECE PROJECTILE LAUNCHING DEVICE Stanley A. Temple, Rocky River, Ohio Application February 11, 1950,'Seria1No. 143,690

8 Claims.

This invention relates in general to mechanisms for launching projectiles, and relates more specically to a device for driving stud pins, rivets and similar members by the force of a combusti ble material into concrete, steel, or other material for rapid fastening of members together or providing anchoring members.

An object of this invention is to provide a muzzle-loading' industrial pin-driving gun.

Another object of this invention is to provide a selectable resistance to movement of a projectile out of the gun in order to build up a force of suitable intensity for the desired driving force before the projectile is launched.

Another object of this invention is to provide a projectile launching' device which may be fired by pressing the device against the surface to be penetratedi 'Still another object of this invention is to provide a projectile launching device having a positive manually operated safety lock and a ring lock operated by a trigger extending beyond the end of the gun barrel in order that the device may not be fired accidentally or purposely until the manual lock is first opened, and the firing lock is operated by pressing the device against the work. to be penetrated.

ther objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the preferred embodiment of the invention showing the ring mechanism and sleeve trigger extended in their relaxed position;

Figure 1A isl a view taken along line IA of Figure l;

Figure 1B is taken along line iB of Figure l;

Figure 2 is the same sectional view illustrating the method of cooking the firing mechanism;

Figure 2A is a perspective View of the cooking of a cooking tool which is useful in cooking the ring mechanism of the invention;

Figure 3 is the same sectional view as Figure 2 showing the top half only of the tool, and illustrating the ring mechanism locked in cocked position by a manually operated collet lock;

Figure 4 illustrates the eect of extending the trigger sleeve after the collet lock is tightened to extend the stud pin lock into engagement with the firing mechanism;

Figure 5 illustrates the fully loaded tool with a combustion-propellable projectile gripped in the breach-loading bore, and with both lock devices full engagement with the firing mechanism;

Figure 6 is a sectional View illustrating the step of releasing the manual collet lock preparatory to ring the tool; and

Figure 7 is a perspective exploded View of the preferred type of combustion-propelled projectile.

Y In the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in longitudinal section. The preferred embodiment comprises a substantially cylindrical construction in all parts, and therefore a longitudinal section is believed to be all that is necessary to completely set forth this preferred embodiment.

In Figure 1 of the drawings the preferred embodiment is illustrated as comprising a gun body I0 having a sleeve trigger il reciprocably bearinged thereon for longitudinal telescoping and retracting movement. A safety tube housing I2, although not essential to the operation of the tool, is employed to encase the gun body and sleeve trigger. The gun body i0, it will be understood, may be made in several different ways, but the illustrated form has been designed for manufacturing convenience and has been built and successfully operated. Accordingly, this method of construction is set forth to illustrate the principles of the invention with the understanding that they can be modied according to particular requirements of manufacture. The gun body is composed of a core i3 with a barrel chamber insert lll therein. A barrel nose i5 is threadably secured upon the end of the core It' and holds the barrel chamber insert lil securely within the core I3. Both the barrel chamber insert lll and the barrel nose i5 are provided with an axial bore of identical diameter which become longitudinally extensive with respect to one another and deiine a bore I6 to guide a projectile from the gun body l0.

The portion of the bore i6 in the barrel nose i5 constitutes the muzzle end of the gun body l0.

A passageway opening il of reduced diameter with respect to the bore i6 extends longitudinally from the bore I6 along a common axis therewith and interconnects the bore it with a ring pin chamber I3. The bore it, passageway I1, and firing pin chamber I8 are all axially aligned and interconnected throughout the length of the gun body lil.

A firing pin i9 having an enlarged head portion 20 is longitudinally reciprocable within the iiring pin chamber i8 and the passageway I1. rlhe firing pin, when in the position illustrated in Figure 1, will just extend into the bore i6, in an area of the bore l defined as the combustion chamber portion 62. A plunger 2I having a stein portion 24 is mounted within the firing pin chamber IS for longitudinal reciprocable movement and is urged toward the muzzle end of the gun body I!) by a spring 22. The two-piece iiring pin means, having the firing pin I9 floating free without a bias force, together with the springloaded plunger 2 I, has proven to be desirable, although not essential, because the plunger 2I acts as a hammer striking an anvil, thereby giving the ring pin a shock blow rather than a steady pressure. It has been found that a shock blow will result in a more certain detonation than a steady pressure. In the illustrated embodiment, the enlarged head portion ts very close to the chamber I8, and therefore when the stem of the pin enters the passageway I1, acts as a dashpot to prevent free movement of the firing pin when the plunger 2I is cocked. rlhus, the firing pin I9 will move slowly, although it is not mechanically restrained, and will not accidentally detonate a sensitive charge before the plunger 2| is released.

A collet chuck is threadably secured at the upper end of the chamber I8. A collet 26 is carried within the chuck 25 and is longitudinally shiftable with respect to the chuck by means cf a handwheel or nut 21 to thereby close the collet by cam action engagement with the chuck. The stem portion 24 of the plunger 2i is longitudinally reciprocable within the collet 25 and may therefore be gripped and held in a stationary position by tightening the collet 26. The operation of the collet and collet chuck is well known and is believed to be unnecessary to further set forth the operation to explain its principles. A thrust washer 28 is provided at the end of the collet 26 to serve as a bearing surface for the end of the spring 22. For convenience of reference the entire collet mechanism will hereinafter be referred to as the manual collet lock 23. This lock 23 is termed a manual lock because it is operated to grasp or release the stem portion 24 only upon manual rotation of the handwheel 21, and not by the mechanical operation of another part to release the collet lock 23.

A retainer ring 3E! is positioned at the end of the housing safety tube I2 and encompasses the top of the core I3. A set screw 3l is provided to hold the retainer ring in the illustrated position.

A spring 32 extends between the retainer ring 3!) and the top of the trigger sleeve Ii and thereby tends to urge the trigger sleeve I I to a longitudinally extended position with respect to the gun body I0. A stop sleeve 33 closely encompasses the core i3 under the spring 32 and limits the distance which the trigger sleeve II can be retracted against the urge of the spring 32.

A longitudinal slot 34 is provided in the side of the trigger sleeve II, and a guide screw 35 is threadably engaged into the core I3 to provide a guide surface engaged within the slot 3d and hold the trigger sleeve II against a spiraling motion as the trigger sleeve II reciprocates with respect to the gun body I t.

A second slot 3S has been provided on the trigger sleeve, and this second slot 36 is provided with rack gear teeth on one side wall thereof. A threaded stud 31 is engaged in a threaded opening 38 extending through the wall cf the core I3 and opening into the ring pin chamber I8. The threaded stud 31 has a pinion gear head 42 adapted to mesh with the rack gear teeth on the wall of the slot 38, and therefore as the trigger sleeve II is reciprocated in a telescoping and retracting direction with respect to the gun body I0, the threaded stud 31 will be advanced and retracted with respect to the firing pin chamber I8. A bearing screw 4I is carried by the housing safety tube I2 and has a pin portion which serves as a bearing to aid in supporting the threaded stud 31 when the stud 31 is retracted with respect to the opening 38. The slots 34 and 36 may be combined to serve both functions, if desired.

The plunger 2| is formed with a lock-engaging surface 39 thereon, and in the illustrated embodiment this lock-engaging surface 39 comprises an annular groove. The threaded stud 31 has a tip 4t thereon to extend into the lock-engaging surface 39 provided by the annular groove. riherefore, it will readily be seen that upon alignment of the lock-engaging surface 39 with the tip 4D, the tip 4t may be advanced by extending the trigger sleeve II and therefore interfere withthe movement of the plunger 2 I.

In order to cock this projectile launching device a cooking tool is provided. The tool 45 has a base '46 and a pin 41. The pin 41 is inserted into the bore IG and the entire launching deviceA is pressed forward against the base 4E. rfhe trigger sleeve II is pressed against the base 4t and therefore is retracted against the urge of the spring 32. Such retraction of the trigger sleeve II will rotate the threaded stud 31 by means ofv the pinion gear head 42 and the rack threaded slot 35 to a retracted position, withdrawing the tip 4i) out of the firing pin chamber I8, compare Figures 1 and 2. Simultaneously with the retraction of the trigger sleeve il, the pin 41 of the cooking tool will pass through the passageway I1 and press the firing pin I9 against the urge of the spring 22. The length of the pin 41 is such that the plunger 2I will exactly position the lock-engaging surface 39 on the plunger 2| in the fixed path traveled by the threaded stud 31. Therefore, because the movement of the trigger sleeve Il in a retracting direction is limited by the stop sleeve 33, and the retracting movement of the ring pin means is exactly controlled by the length of the pin 41, a perfect alignment of the lock-engaging surface 39 with the fixed longitudinal path of travel for the threaded stud 31 is automatically determined by simply pressing the projectile firing device against the cooking tool 45. The cocked position, with the cooking tool 45 in place, is illustrated best in the Figure 2 of the drawings.

After the firing pin means and the trigger sleeve I I have been moved to the position illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings, the manual collet lock 23 may be tightened as illustrated in Figure 3 to grip the stem portion 24 of the plunger 2I. The collet 26 grips the stem 24 at a grip point illustrated by the reference character 48.

After the stem 24 has been gripped by the manual collet lock 23 the cocking tool 45 and the projectile launching device can be separated, thereby allowing the sleeve trigger I I to telescope beyond the end of the gun body I0 under the urge of the spring 32 (see Figure 4). When the trigger sleeve II moves to the forward position under the urge of the spring 32 the threaded stud 31 will rotate as previously described and advance the tip -40 into the ring pin chamber i3. The lock-engaging surface 39 on the plunger 2 I, having been previously positioned in line with the fixed path of travel of the tip 40, and held in that position by the manual collet lock 23, the

5 vtip 40 will engage into the lock-engaging surface 39 and therefore interfere with movement of the plunger 2l (see Figure 5). Accordingly, even though the collet lock 23 is released, the mechanically operated lock provided by the threaded stud 3l will not permit movement of the plunger 2l (see Figure 6).

An advantage of the illustrated embodiment of the tool lies in the ability to muzzle-load a projectile into the bore I5 rather than having to have a method of breaking down the tool and insert a breech-loaded shell. In Figure '7 of the drawings a combustion projectile 5I) is illustrated in exploded perspective. The term combustion projectile is used to mean an actual projectile piece such as a projectile 5I having associated therewith a rapidly burning material which will form a driving force when coniined to a limited area. Normally a combination of projectile and combustion material, as used in firearms and prior devices intended for the same purpose as this invention, employ a shell having a flanged cap to hold the shell from moving through the barrel of the gun. In this invention, although such a construction is feasible for use with the other features of the invention, it has been found to be a distinct advantage to provide the combustion projectile 55 in which the rapidly combustible material is held in close proximity to the actual projectile 5I, such as by cementing, without being encased in any type of temporary holding shell. In Figure 'l the projectile 5I has a threaded neck portion 52 with a removable collar 53 threaded thereon. The collar 53 is dimensioned to closely nt within the combustion chamber portion 62 of the bore I5. A capsule of combustible material is indicated by the reference character 54. Any suitable rapidly burning combustible material may be employed for the expellant material, but it has been found that a rapid burning fuse material will serve the purpose very well. The capsule 54 has a longitudinal hole 55 therethrough which will conveniently hold an ignition cap 55 of well-known structure quite widely used with esplosive materials.

The combustion projectile, that is, the completely assembled projectile including the rapidly combustible material, is inserted into the muzzle end of the bore IG and moved by gravity into the combustion chamber portion 52. A pressure screw 53 is threadably engaged into a threaded opening 5I) passing through the side wall of the core I5 and opening into the combustion chamber portion 62. A longitudinal slot 5l is provided in the trigger sleeve Il in order to allow the trigger sleeve to reciprocate without interference from the pressure screw 5d, and an opening 59 is provided through the housing I2.

After the combustion projectile 5) reaches the upper end the combustion chamber 52, the pressure screw 58 may be tightened down to engage the threaded collar 53 and clamp the combustion projectile 55 in the bore I5 with any desired degree of tightness. This embodiment of the invention offers the distinct advantage of being able to place a selected resistance to movement of the projectile out of the bore Iii and therefore preselect the muzzle velocity of the projectile. In using ordinary shell type of projectiles the resistance to movement of the projectile from the launching device is determined by the friction between the projectile and the shell. According to this invention each combustion projectile 5] can be controlled as to muzzle velocity by the degree to which the pressure screw 58 has been tightened.

6. I The Figure 5 of the drawings illustrates the projectile launching device of this invention fully loaded with both the manual collet lock 23 and the mechanical lock provided by the threaded stud 31 in full engagement with the i'lring pin means in order to prevent discharge of the projectile. In order to prepare the launching device for use, the manual collet lock 23 is released and the launching device then appears as illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings. To fire the projectile 5| from the bore I5 after the manual collet lock 23 has been released, the entire launching device is pressed against the surface intended to be penetrated by the projectile 5I to retract the trigger sleeve II with respect to the gun body IU. Such retraction as previously explained, will cause the threaded stud 31 to rotate and Withdraw from the firing pin chamber I8, thereby disengaging the lock-engaging surface 39 on the plunger 2| and permitting the spring 22 to drive the ring pin I9 into the combustion chamber 62 and fire the combustible material to drive the projectile 5I from the bore I5. Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by Way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. A projectile launching device comprising, a gun barrel, a sleeve mounted on said gun barrel for relative telescoping movement between extended and contracted relative positions, said gun barrel having a bore with a combustion chamber portion to hold a rable combustion-actuated projectile, spring urged firing pin means including a firing pin point extendable into said combustion chamber portion, rst lock means to hold said ilring pin means inactive against the urge of the spring, control means for said first lock means operable by relative movement of said sleeve and said gun barrel from said extended to said contracted relative positions to release said rst lock means, and second lock means manually operated to hold said firing pin means inactive against the urge of the spring to prevent unintentional activation of the ring pin means by the control means.

2. A projectile launching device comprising, a gun barrel, a sleeve mounted on said gun barrel for relative telescoping movement between extended and contracted relative positions, said gun barrel having a bore, means to hold a firable combustion-actuated projectile in said bore, a spring urged ring pin including a ring pin point extendable into said combustion chamber portion, said firing pin having a stem portion, first lock means to hold said ring pin means inactive against the urge of the spring, control means for said rst lockmeans operable by relative movement of said sleeve and said gun barrel from said extended to said contracted relative positions to release said lock means, and second lock means manually operated to hold said firing pin means inactive against the urge of the spring, said second lock means including a collet to grip said stem portion to prevent unintentional activation of the firing pin means by the control means.

3. A projectile launching device comprising. a longitudinal gun barrel having a muzzle end,

said gun barrel having a bore therein opening at said muzzle end, means to hold aprojectile in said bore, firing means operable to iire a cornbustion-actuated projectile held Within said bore, a trigger sleeve, said gun barrel extending within the sleeve, yieldable means urging said sleeve and gun barrel to an extended position with the sleeve extended beyond the muzzle end of said gun barrel in a rst relative position, said sleeve and gun barrel being relatively retractable against the urge or" said yieldable means to a second position wherein the sleeve is positioned rearwardly of said .first position relative to said gun barrel, and implementation means driven by mechanical drive means interconnected between said gun barrel and trigger sleeve implementing the iiring means upon relative movement of the gun body and the trigger1 sleeve to said second position.

1l. A projectile launching device comprising, a longitudinal gun barrel having a muzzle end, said gun barrel having a bore therein opening at said muzzle end, a threaded opening extending at an angle to said bore through said barrel into said bore, screw means engaged in said threaded opening to ciamp a projectile in said bore with a selectalole degree of tightness, a trigger sleeve member, said gun barrel extending Within the sleeve member, said sleeve member and gun barrel being relatively reciprocable from a first relative position wherein the sleeve is extending beyond said muzzle end of the gun barrel to a second relative position wherein the sleeve is retracted from said first position rearwardly relative to said gun barrel, an entry opening into said bore for a ring pin, said firing pin dimensioned to extend through said entry opening into said bore to the position therein occupied by a loaded projectile, said firing pin mounted for reciprocable movement through said opening, biasing means urging said ring pin to project through said entry opening into said bore, lock means for holding said firing pin inactive against the urge of said biasing means, and implementation means driven by mechanical drive means interconnected between said gun barrel and trigger sleeve impleinenting the iiring means upon movement of the gun barrel and sleeve to said second relative position.

5. A projectile launching device comprising, a longitudinal barrel having a muzzle end, said gun barrel having a bore therein opening at said muzzle end, grip means to hold a projectile in said bore, a trigger sleeve member, said gun barrel extending within the sleeve member, said sleeve member and gun barrel being relatively reciprocable between a rst relative position wherein the sleeve is extending beyond said muzzle end of the gun barrel and a second relative position wherein the sleeve is retracted from said iirst position rearwardly relative to said gun barrel, an entry opening into said bore, a ring pin dimensioned to extend through said entry opening into said bore to the position therein occupied by a loaded projectile, said ring pin mounted for reciprocable move-ment through said opening, biasing means urging,T said iring pin to move along a tiring path and drive said tiring pin into said bore, interference lock means carried by said barrel, said interference loch means ing a look condition interfering with movement of the tiring pin along said firing path, and having an unlockedcondition not interfering therewith, and mechanical drive means for said interference lock means interconnected between said trigger sleeve member and the gun barrel,

said drive means setting up said lock-condition of the lock means when the trigger sleeve and gun barrel are moved relative to one another to said rst position, and setting up said unlocked condition when the trigger sleeve and gun barrel are moved relative to one another to said second p0- sition.

6. A projectile launching device comprising a longitudinal barrel having a muzzle end, said gun barrel having a bore therein opening at said muzzle end, a sleeve mounted on said gun barrel, said barrel extending within the sleeve, means to hold a nrable projectile within said bore rearwardly of said muzzle end of the barrel, manually cockable spring loaded firing means disposed to contact a rable projectile loaded in said bore, said iiring means having a dened path of movement to nre a projectile, threaded stud guide means with a stud threadably engaged therein, said threaded stud guide means deiining a longitudinal path of travel for said stud, said path or" travel for the stud extending across the said defined path ci movement of the tiring means, stud rotation drive means operable by relative telescoping movement of said barrel and sleeve, relative advance movement oi the sleeve with respect to the gun barrel to a position wherein the sleeve extends beyond the muzzie of the barrel providing rotating of the stud in the guide surfaces in a direction advancing the stud into the said defined path of movement oi the ring means to thereby' block movement of the iiring means, and retracting movement of the sleeve and said barrel retraoting said stud out oi said defined path.

'7. A projectile launching device comprising a longitudinal barrel having a muzzle end, said gun barrel having a bore therein opening at said muzzle end, a sleeve carried i telescoping reciprooable arrangement with respect to said barrel for movement of the sleeve from a position where the end of said sleeve extends beyond the end of said barrel to a position in a plane substantially flush with the end face of said barrel, means to hold a iirable projectile within said bore rearwardly of said end oi' the barrel, spring urged iiring means disposed to contact a irable projectile loaded in said bore, said iring means having a deiined path in which it can be moved to nre a projectile, threaded stud guide means with a stud threadably engaged therein, said threaded stud guide means dening g. longitudinal path of travel for the said stud, said path or" travel for the stud extending across the said defined path of movement of the firing means, said stud having a pinion toothed drive portion, rack teeth carried by said sleeve in driving engagement with the pinion toothed drive portion of the stud, said rack teeth being longitudinally reciprocable by extension and retraction movements of the sleeve and the gun barrel relative to one another, said threaded stud guide means and stud being formed to advance said stud into said dened path of movement of the firing means upon rotation of said stud as relative movement of the barrel and sleeve takes place to position the sleeve beyond the muzzle end of the gun barrel to thereby bloei: movement of the tiring means, and relative retracting movement of the sleeve and gun barrel retracting said stud out of said deiined path or movement, and manual lock means carried by said barrel and operable to hold said firing means in an inactive position after being cocked against the urge of said spring, said stud and said firing means having mutually interlockable surfaces which are aligned longitudinally of said stud only When the firing means is cocked and are interengaged by the said advance movement of the stud.

8. A projectile launching device comprising, a relatively reciprocable telescoping gun barrel and sleeve, spring means urging said sleeve and barrel to move to a relative position wherein the sleeve is extending beyond the end of said gun barrel, said sleeve and gun barrel being relatively movable to a retracted position, said gun barrel having a muzzle-loading bore, and means at said muzzle end for receiving a cooking tool, means positioned to engage and clamp a rable projectile in said bore, a firing pin chamber extending axially aligned with said bore, a passageway from said firing pin chamber to said bore, ring pin means in said ring pin chamber including a iiring pin point dimensioned to pass through said passageway into said bore, spring means mounted to urge said firing pin point into a ring position extending into said bore, said ring pin means being retractable from said ring position to a cocked position by manually forcing said ring pin means against the spring with said cocking tool, said barrel having a laterally extending threaded opening through to said firing pin chamber, a threaded lock stud threadably engaged in said threaded opening, said ring pin means and said stud having mutually interlockable surfaces, said interlockable CII surfaces of the ring pin means and lock stud being aligned in said cocked position, said stud having a pinion gear head, longitudinally extending rack teeth carried by said sleeve engaged with said pinion gear head, the threaded opening and rack teeth being formed to rotate said stud and advance said stud into said firing pin chamber to a lock position upon movement of the sleeve and rack thereon to said advanced position, retraction movement of said sleeve and rack relative to said barrel thereby retracting said stud out of said ring pin chamber to an unlocked position, said ring pin means having a stem portion, and a manually operable collet carried by said barrel and positioned to receive and grip said stem portion.

STANLEY A. TEMPLE.

References Cited in the rile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,466,968 Smith Sept. 4, 1923 1,984,117 Davis Dec. 11, 1934 2,008,362 Littlehale July 16, 1935 2,229,868 Newell Jan. 28, 1941 2,356,727 Reising Aug. 22, 1944 2,479,431 Temple Aug. 16, 1949 2,538,895 Brennan Jan. 23, 1951 2,549,993 Temple Apr. 24, 1951 

